


Snowed In

by ImOutOfMyVulcanMind (LoopyLu94)



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Arguments, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Love Confessions, Snowed In, Snuggling for warmth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-14 18:20:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28550049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoopyLu94/pseuds/ImOutOfMyVulcanMind
Summary: Getting trapped by a snowstorm in a different city wasn’t the way you’d planned to spend New Years. Spending it with your boss, Harrison Wells hadn’t been on the cards either. But when the power goes out, the two of you find yourself coming together
Relationships: Earth-2 Harrison "Harry" Wells/Reader, Earth-2 Harrison "Harry" Wells/You
Kudos: 18





	Snowed In

“Are you sure there’s no way…? Yes, I understand but it’s vital we get back as soon as possible….okay…yes…please…thank you. Bye.” Hanging up the phone, you sighed and looked out the window at the sheets of snow coming down to blanket the city around you in white. You should’ve been heading back to Central City tomorrow, ending a week of meetings a day early to avoid a snowstorm, but it had come in faster than expected and now you were grounded until further notice. It could’ve been worse. You’d rented a house for the week, and the owner had already been in touch to confirm you could stay at no extra cost. So you had a roof over your head, a full cupboard, and warmth. Not the most awful way to get trapped in a strange city. However, you knew one person who wouldn’t be happy at this new turn of events. **  
**

Turning away from the large plane of glass, you looked over at Harrison sitting at the dining table, scowling at his laptop. Your boss hadn’t wanted to come, but since he was the main focus of the meetings, hadn’t been able to get out of it either. And after days of complaining about how these unnecessary distractions were hindering his development of the Particle Accelerator, he was surely not going to take the news well. 

“Dr. Wells?” You called, approaching him and waiting for him to look up from his work. “I’ve spoken to every airline and transport hub in the City. I’m afraid we’re stuck here until the storm has cleared.”

The scowl stayed firmly in place as he tossed his glasses onto the table. “How long will that be?”

“Three days. At best.”

“Great. I promised Jesse I’d be home for lunch on New Years Day.”

“I’m sorry, sir. I’ve set it up so I’ll be contacted the moment we can leave.”

Harrison nodded, his focus already back on his laptop. “Good. Now excuse me, I have to go let down my daughter.”

You felt bad about it, yet as awkward as you’d expected to be cooped up in a house with your boss to be, the first day wasn’t all that bad at all. In fact, after speaking to Jesse, and apparently being reassured that his delay was okay, Harrison seemed to be in a rather pleasant mood. The two of you shared dinner together, and it was…nice. Harrison was good company when he wanted to be, it seemed.

Then, on the second night, disaster struck. The power went out. Not just in your house, but in half the city. And with it went your heating. 

Shivering in the kitchen, you hung up the phone. “There’s nothing to be done. We just have to wait for everything to come back on.”

“So we’re just meant to sit here and freeze?!”

“We do have the fire…”

“Great.” Harrison ran his hands through his hair as he paced, “This is your fault.”

“My fault? How exactly?”

“If you’d rescheduled, we wouldn’t be here!”

You scoffed in disbelief. “You knew these things had to be dealt with by January for months. If you hadn’t made me reschedule three times already, we could’ve come over the summer and avoided this whole mess!”

“So it’s my fault?”

“Your stubbornness didn’t exactly help!”

It was Harrison’s turn to scoff now. “My stubbornness? I’m sorry if working on a groundbreaking, world-changing project comes before a few idiotic meetings that ultimately affect nothing!”

“You still have a business to lead!”

“The Particle Accelerator is more important!”

“I know! I know how important it is. I know you need to be left alone.”

“Then why don’t you do your job and make sure I am?”

That stung. “I do.”

“Not well enough! If you did I wouldn’t be stuck here, with no heat, no light, no internet, unable to work on anything for God knows how long!”

“Not well enough?” You laughed, but there was no humor in it. “Do you have any idea how much bullshit I’ve kept off your plate these past couple years? How much banal drivel you have no idea about because I intercepted it before it even got a chance to enter your peripheral? All the while dealing with whatever else you put on me on top! I can’t even begin to count the amount of hours I’ve worked longer than I should have to make sure everything is running smoothly and you don’t get interrupted from your ‘important’ work!”

“Well if it’s so much work you’re free to hand in your notice whenever you like!”

“Yeah? Maybe I will! I’ll have a job with someone who appreciates me in days!”

“FINE!”

“FINE!” Turning on your heel you stormed off back into your room, slamming the door behind you loudly.

Slumping on the bed, your tears felt hot against your skin in the cold, dark room. You cried quietly, muffling your sobs in the pillow lest he hear you. You didn’t need him calling you out on that too.

As stubborn headed and difficult to work for as Harrison was, you’d always loved your job. You loved the challenge of juggling everything, and knowing you were helping to keep his schedule as clear as possible to leave him free to work on his projects made you feel like you helped with them in some small way, though he’d probably laugh at you for it. But on top of it all, you’d always liked Harrison. Yeah, he was more like a grumpy, feral alleycat than the CEO of a billion-dollar company, but he’d always been decent to you. Aside from his daughter, you were probably the person who spent the most time with him, and you’d always gotten along well. Until now. He’d never been that angry before. Unhappy? Yeah. Annoyed? That was practically his permanent state. But never angry. Not at you. And that hurt. 

You cried harder into the pillow, mad at him for acting the way he did and mad at yourself for fucking up as badly as you had. Maybe if you’d just tried harder to reschedule again…

A sharp rap at the door pulled you from your thoughts. “Y/L/N. I’ve got the fire lit. It’s warm out here now.”

You didn’t want to face him, but staying in your room while it was this cold wouldn’t do any good either. You didn’t need hypothermia on top of everything else. 

Sniffing and wiping away the tears as best you could, you wrapped a blanket around your shoulders and emerged from the bedroom. 

He’d done well. He’d set up enough candles that you could see decently. There was a fire blazing in the living room, and he’d put out blankets on the sofa and floor. In different circumstances, it’d be cozy. Romantic, even. 

Harrison was standing near the sofa watching you. If he could make out the tear stains in the dim light, he had enough courtesy left not to say anything. Standing awkwardly a few feet away from him, you kept the blanket pulled close tightly. “Sit down. Get warm,” Harrison said, looking just as awkward as he stepped aside. 

“Thank you, sir.” You kept your voice even while you moved to settle on the sofa. Harrison didn’t join like you’d expected, instead disappearing off someplace else. 

You stayed where you were, feet tucked up under you, and let the warmth of the fire slowly soak into you. Even with the blanket and the flames you still found yourself a little chilly but compared to how cold it’d been in your room, you felt a world better. You could hear Harrison move about the rest of the house and occasionally caught him muttering under his breath, but what he was actually doing, you had no idea. Until he reappeared again, arms full. He set everything down on the floor with a slight puff and started organizing them. When he straightened, he was holding a lump of dark material.

“Here. Put this on,” he said, waving it in your direction.

Wiggling out from your blanket cocoon, you reached for the item. The moment you grasped it, you recognized the material. “This is your coat.”

“Excellent observation. Now put it on, you need the extra layer.”

“What about you?” You asked, pulling on the coat. It was heavy on your shoulders but the extra warmth was felt immediately.

“I’m fine. I’m more used to the cold than you are.”

“Well, thank you. I appreciate it.”

All you got in return was a nod then Harrison was back sorting through the rest of the items he’d brought. “I’m heating up soup. Tomato or chicken?”

“Tomato.”

Harrison knelt on the blankets covering the floor as he opened the can and poured the contents into a pot. It felt weird, sitting on the sofa while he was working, so you wrapped your blanket back around yourself, and sat on the floor too, back leaning against the sofa. You watched as he pulled a few other things together, using them to create a hook and support so he could hang the pot safely over the fire. 

“Where’d you learn to do that?” 

Harrison glanced over his shoulder before securing the pot above the flames. “It’s just some basic engineering. An idiot could do it.” He was silent for several seconds so you thought that was the end of it. “It’s easier in a home with supplies.”

“You’ve done it before?”

“In the military. Part of basic training.”

“You didn’t just do it in basic training.”

“No.”

You’d known he’d been in the army during the War, but he’d never brought it up before so you’d never asked. Even now, you didn’t want to pry, but you were curious. “Is that why you’re more used to the cold, too?” 

“Hmm.”

“Did you spend a lot of time outside?”

“Not as much as some. They kept me in the labs. Mostly.” Harrison stared into the flames for a few seconds, then cleared his throat. “The soup will take a few minutes more.”

“Okay.” Neither of you spoke further, instead just listening to the flames crackle and the soup start to bubble in the pot. Despite the earlier argument, the silence was surprisingly comfortable. As quickly as the moment had passed, you’d never known Harrison to be so open, and that he’d been willing to do so with you, felt nice.

Eventually, Harrison scooped out two bowlfuls of soup and scooted back until he was next to you. “Careful, it’s hot,” he said, passing you one.

“Thank you.” Blowing on a spoonful, you hummed at the warmth of it. Between the food, the layers, the fire, and now Harrison next to you, the last of the cold seeped away, and for the first time in hours, you actually felt toasty.

When you were both done and the bowls had been pushed to the side, the two of you stayed close together, enjoying the newfound warmth. Harrison occasionally moved to stoke the fire, but other than that, neither of you did anything. You were cozy enough, that it didn’t take long before you started to feel yourself drift off.

“Stay,” Harrison said, just before you fell asleep.

“Hmm?”

“Don’t quit. Stay.”

“I thought you wanted someone who’s good at their job?”

“I do, and that person is you. What you asked earlier, about if I knew how much you do for me? The answer is I do. I just never realized it. My life has been quieter since I hired you, a lot quieter, and I took that for granted. You’ve always performed admirably, and I couldn’t ask for anyone better.”

“I appreciate you saying that,” you whispered, looking over at him.

“Does that mean you’ll stay?”

“Yeah, I’ll stay. I like working for you.”

Harrison chuckled, “I’m not sure many would say that.”

“Maybe I’m just odd.”

“Or special.”

Cheeks heating, you looked away. “I wouldn’t go that far, I’m not the genius who’s going to change the world.”

“I wouldn’t be able to do it without you. You’ve helped more than you know.”

You smiled, “Thank you, Doctor Wells.”

“I think being trapped in front of a fire with no power calls for first names.”

“Alright. Harrison.”

Harrison returned your smile then checked his watch. “It’s nearly midnight. Join me for a glass of wine?”

“I’d like that.”

Harrison got up and disappeared into the kitchen. When he returned he was carrying two glasses and a bottle of white wine. He popped it and poured out two glasses.

“Not the way you’d planned to spend New Year’s Eve, I bet,” you said, taking one of the glasses.

“No, it’s not. This is better.”

“I agree.”

The wine was delicious, and the two of you sipped it together until Harrison’s watch beeped once again. 

“Happy New Year.”

“Happy New Year.”

Clinking your glasses, you realized Harrison’s eyes stayed on you while you finished the drink. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” The answer came too quickly.

“No secrets in front of the fire.”

Harrison chuckled, looking down into his own glass as he rubbed the back of his neck. “I was just…thinking.”

“About?”

“I can’t. It’d be….inappropriate of me.”

“Tell me, Harrison,” you said quietly, butterflies forming in your stomach.

He hesitated a moment, then met your gaze, “I was thinking that…I’d like to kiss you.”

Gasping softly, you lost every word you knew. Harrison seemed to think that was bad. “As I said, it’s inappropriate. Forget I said anything.”

“No.”

“What?”

“I won’t forget,” you whispered, setting your glass down to scooch closer. “I’d like it if you did.”

“You don’t have to say that because I’m your boss.”

“I’m not.” Hesitantly, you reached up to touch his face, smiling when he didn’t pull away. “I want to kiss you too.”

Harrison studied your face for a few seconds, then his lips were on yours, pressing softly but insistently. You kissed back, moaning softly as you wound your arms around his shoulders, lips parting for him. 

You kissed for what seemed like an age, yet even when Harrison pulled back slightly breathless, it felt like it was over too soon. “Y/N, that was…”

“Amazing.”

“I agree.” He brought a hand to your face, calloused fingers brushing over your skin oh so gently as if he were afraid he’d hurt you. “I haven’t done this since…since my wife…”

“I understand.” You copied his action, brushing fingers over his cheek just as slowly. “We can go slow.”

“Thank you.”

“Of course.”

Harrison kissed you again, arms wrapping around your body as he slowly lowered you to the ground. With him hovering over you, it was the warmest you’d ever felt. 

When you awoke the next morning, the fire in front of you had died out, but there was still a solid heat pressed to your back, and an arm wrapped securely around your waist. Smiling to yourself, you turned into the embrace to meet a pair of clear blue eyes. 

“Good morning,” you said softly.

“Good morning.” Harrison’s eyes flicked down to your lips then back to your eyes. “Do you have any regrets?”

“Not a one. You?”

“No.” Harrison pressed his lips to yours. You moaned into it. 

A perfect start to the year.


End file.
